Willing Workers

It was with great sadness that those living and working at Parmly LifePointes heard that Phyllis Lindquist, the last of the “Willing Workers,” had died on May 20, 2007. The name “Willing Workers” became the official title for a group of faithful women employees whom, with so much love and devotion worked at the Bethesda Old Peoples’ Home.  “The Girls,” as they were also called, lived together in the former Talbot house on the grounds that was connected to the Home by a tunnel.  On call 24 hours a day, they were the lifeblood of the Home as they handled the unending and repetitive duties of food preparation and serving, laundry and housekeeping necessary to take proper care of the residents.

Phyllis Lindquist

At a very young age, Phyllis Lindquist began working at the Home as a babysitter for the John Carlson family. At the time, a distinctive aspect of the Old Peoples’ Home was the working farm with John Carlson as its manager.  Phyllis also filled in at the Home in varying capacities when the regular staff was unavailable.  She was delighted when she got the dining room job at a young age of 16.  One of her aunts asked her parents, “Why does she want to work there?  That’s no place for a young woman!”

Phyllis, though, loved her work which included being in charge of the dining room, mending clothes, gardening, canning and making jellies and working as a nursing assistant giving personal care to the residents. She especially enjoyed using her creative skills to plan parties and special monthly dinners for the Residents. 

She often stayed until up midnight designing centerpieces and party favors.  She retired in 1981 after working for 55 years at Parmly. At her retirement party, David Kaasa, administrator at that time, praised her reliability.  “When others couldn’t get to work, Phyllis would put on those big galoshes of hers and come right over.  You could always depend on her.”

Continuing as active volunteer after her retirement, she donated countless hours including lovingly tending the beautiful gardens, shrubs and trees at the Residence and Parmly Lakeview Apartments, serving coffee on Sunday at the Residence and assisting in any way she could.  According to Jim McGurk, Grounds Supervisor, “Phyllis’ love of gardening was at the top of her life’s joys.  She literally tended to each individual plant.” Colleen Guilfoile, Community Volunteer and Events Coordinator remembers that her first impression of Phyllis as “a busy, caring woman.  She always had a smile on her face and was a kind, thoughtful lady who was always at peace with herself.” 

In 2002, the Parmly Board of Advisors established an annual award for the outstanding volunteer from the entire Parmly campus who contributes to our tradition of giving back to others.  They fittingly named it the Phyllis Lindquist Volunteer of the Year award as she best exemplifies the spirit of volunteering at Parmly. The first award was gratefully accepted by Phyllis on April 20, 2002 honoring her for 75 years of volunteering.  She once described her volunteering as “that which you do because you like to give to others, but makes you feel good, too.” Honorees for the Phyllis Lindquist Volunteer of the Year Award are LaDonna Lindblom (2003); Alice Ferl (2004); Merilee Frederickson (2005); Bernette Wikelius, Gertrude Lindo and Harriet Ryberg (2006) and Dorothy Neudahl (2007).

While the presentation of the Phyllis Lindquist Volunteer of the Year award is one of the yearly highlights at Parmly LifePoints, it was a bittersweet moment this year without Phyllis’ presence.  Jim said, “She was a person who literally breathed Parmly.”  Phyllis’ devotion and tireless attention to the elderly will always be remembered through the volunteer award, a special perennial garden to be planted this spring outside of the Wellness Centre and carried on in the hearts of all of us at Parmly.